By Tiernan Ray

Hosting provider RackspaceHosting (RAX) this afternoon reported Q4 revenue that topped analysts’ expectations, and earnings in line with consensus, and said its CEO would retire.

Revenue in the three months ended in December rose to $408 million, yielding EPS of 14 cents.

Analysts, on average, had been modeling $405 million and 14 cents.

Separately, the company saidCEO Lanham Napier would retire to spend his time investing in young companies. He will also step down from the board. The company said Graham Weston, co-founder and chair, will take over for Napier.

Said Napier,

It has been a privilege to be part of Rackspace for the past fourteen years. I have enjoyed working with Rackers and our customers to bring Fanatical Support to the fast-growing market of cloud computing. My decision to step down as CEO was a difficult one, but it’s the right choice for me and for the company. With the board and management team aligned around our 2014 strategy and financial plan, I believe now is a natural transition point to select a new leader for the next exciting phase of Rackspace’s growth. I look forward to following Rackspace’s success as I return to my entrepreneurial roots – to build new things and invest in disruptive ideas.

Rackspace shares are down $4.78, or 12%, at $35.58.

Correction: A prior version of this post incorrectly cited this quarter’s EPS as beating expectations. In fact, EPS of 14 cents was in line with consensus. My apologies for any confusion caused by the error.

Update: On the conference call, management projected revenue to rise 2% to 3.5% this quarter, which would be about $416 million to $422 million, above the consensus for $417 million. For the full year, the company sees revenue rising 15% to 18%, or $1.76 billion to $1.81 billion, again, above the consensus for $1.78 billion.

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.